Tumultus
by konylooper
Summary: A young Percy confronts his reading disability, and discovers that maybe he's not as alone as he thought he was. Pre-PJO series. Note: Percy is in about 5th grade and already has been diagnosed with ADHD. ONE-SHOT


AN: Honestly, my first story,...EVER. Any tips or pointers would be severely appreciated. Seriously. Thanks.

Tumultus

Percy sat in the classroom, struggling to read the textbook in front of him. They were studying the American Revolution, which Percy honestly found interesting, but the words just wouldn't stop dancing across the page. This happened a lot when he reads, but everyone always brushed it off. His teachers had never liked him, always hating how hyperactive he was. They told his mother that he didn't try or care.

'But I do care!' he thought.

"Percy, would you like to read the first paragraph?"

Startled, Percy looked up to see the whole class looking at him.

"Uhh…" A girl giggled, and he blushed.

"At the top of the page Percy." His teacher said.

"Uh yeah, umm….The Dec-Declaration of Independence was ado-adopted on July 4, 1776 by Congress. Mohtsa Ferjfeson-"

"You mean Thomas Jefferson?!"

Immediately Percy realized his mistake and his eyes widened in mortification.

"Oh my god! What did he say?!"

"How stupid is he?"

"He probably did it on purpose, he's just trying to be annoying."

Percy felt his face heat up and he looked down at his textbook. It was bad enough that with his ADHD he was always bouncing around and freaking people out. Now people thought he was an idiot! He began to hear himself ramble.

"I-I didn't know, I'm just not a very good reader, an-and it really didn't look like Thomas Jefferson. I swear I wa-"

"Percy," He looked up to see his teacher, Ms. Audacia, in front of him. "Percy it's okay, but I would like you to stay after class for a little bit, okay? You're not in trouble; I just want to talk with you."

Percy nodded, and Ms. Audacia turned back to the class and called on someone else to do the reading. The lesson continued and Percy found it impossible to concentrate. All he could think of was what was going to happen to him after class. He scowled down at his textbook.

'Stupid Thomas Jefferson, if you hadn't tricked me, I would have never embarrassed myself' he thought.

Too soon, class finally ended as the bell rang, dismissing everyone to recess. Everyone left the classroom except for Percy. After everyone else left, Ms. Audacia stopped from where she was putting her stuff away, and came up to Percy's desk.

"Percy, like I said before, you are not in trouble, I only want to help you. Okay?" she said.

"Um…help with what?" Percy asked.

"Percy, do you have problems reading? I don't mean to be blunt, but reading seems to be challenging for you."

Percy again found himself blushing with shame.

"I'm not stupid…" he muttered.

Ms. Audacia must have heard him for her eyes widened.

"Oh no! I was not implying that! Percy, I know that you are a very bright boy, but what I am speaking of has nothing to do with cleverness."

Confused Percy asked, "If you're not talking about that, then what are you talking about?"

Smiling Ms. Audacia said, "Percy, as some people have visual or hearing impairments, some have reading. One such impairment is called Dyslexia."

"Dyslexia?" Percy asked skeptically.

"Yes, Dyslexia is a brain-based type of learning disability that specifically impairs a person's ability to read. However, understand that Dyslexia has absolutely no effect on a person's IQ, meaning that someone with Dyslexia can be just as intelligent, maybe even more so, than someone not."

"So you think that I'm bad at reading because I have this, Dyslexia thing?"

"I believe it is a possibility. How long have you had issues reading?" Ms. Audacia asked.

"Uh, well it's been, well ever since I started reading I guess."

"How bad is it?"

"I get words mixed up, and I can't spell, it's also hard for me to write."

"Hmmm, how about math? Is it difficult writing numbers?"

"Sometimes, but it's not as bad as English."

"Well it definitely sounds like a case of Dyslexia to me."

Percy looked down thinking hard. "So what does this mean? I mean I already have ADHD, and now I have Dyslexia?"

"People with Dyslexia just have problems with processing words. Honestly, people with Dyslexia actually tend to be more creative and out-of-the-box thinkers."

Looking up Percy asked," Really?"

"Uh-huh. Being Dyslexic is nothing to be ashamed of. It just means you have to work harder, and something tells me Percy that you're a hard worker."

Percy felt himself smile at the compliment. "Yeah, I am."

Ms. Audacia smiled back at him. "I'm glad. Now you should get going if you want to get some recess time in. I'll make sure to call your mother and inform her, okay?"

"Thanks so much Ms. Audacia!" Percy felt himself beam with gratitude.

"It's no problem Percy, I love helping my students. And if you ever need any more help, just ask me, okay?" Ms. Audacia said.

"Yeah okay." Percy grabbed his bag at walked to the door. Suddenly a thought crossed his mind.

"Ms. Audacia, how do you know so much about Dyslexia?" The question came out before he could stop it. Stupid ADHD.

Ms. Audacia turned from the board where she was writing and looked at him.

"Isn't it obvious?" she smiled," I'm Dyslexic too."

Percy felt himself smile, and race out the room, feeling he had finally met someone who understood him.

A.N.: So, what'd y'all think? Please comment, I really just want to get better as a writer and any constructive criticism would help. Also if you've gotten to this point, then thanks for reading my FIRST STORY EVER! Please comment!


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